N-vinylpyrrolidone homopolymers and homopolymeric alkyl substituted N-vinylpyrrolidone derivatives in the K 15 to 90 range have been employed as hair fixatives since these film forming polymers are nontoxic and possess some hair holding ability. Although improvements in the later property have been achieved through the development of N-vinyl lactam terpolymers, their incorporation in hair sprays has not provided the degree of stiffness needed for hair setting. Accordingly, several N-vinyl pyrrolidone terpolymer mixtures have been employed to combine stiffness and hold in pump spray and aerosol hair setting formulations. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,762 utilizes mixtures of N-vinyl pyrrolidone, N-vinyl caprolactam and dimethylaminoethyl-methacrylate terpolymer (e.g. GAFFIX.RTM. VC-713, supplied by International Specialty Products) and polyhydroxylated sulfate ester salts; however, these compositions are not altogether satisfactory in that they lack strong holding power and desired stiffness under high humidity conditions. Additionally, tack duration is extended and the mixture exibits wet hair comb drag resulting in poor combability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,124 employs mixtures of relatively high and low molecular weight resins, e.g. GAFFIX.RTM. VC-713 and polyvinylpyrrolidone to achieve acceptable stiffness and holding power, although tackiness at high humidity and low combability remain unsolved and troublesome problems.
While GAFFIX alone has been proposed as a hair fixative having good conditioning and high humidity holding power (HHCR), as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,404, the terpolymer fails to provide the degree of stiffness required for current hair sprays. From the teachings in the art, it appears that active components combined with vinyl lactam terpolymers in a given hair spray mixture for the purpose of solving or minimizing one problem, generally result in creating or exacerbating another. Hence, the combinations of individual active components in a vinyl lactam polymer mixture is highly unpredictable. Particularly, it would be expected that the excellent holding properties of N-vinyl lactam/amino-acrylate terpolymers would be proportionately diminished by dilution with hygroscopic polymeric additives having little or no holding power in aqueous solutions.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a specific resin mixture derived from four monomeric components as the active ingredients in a hair spray formulation having improved hold and stiffness under very high humidity conditions while increasing combability and minimizing tackiness during drying on the hair.
Another object is to provide a hair fixative which possesses the above beneficial properties and which forms a clear, colorless, non-flaking film which is readily removed with shampoo and does not cause build up on hair fibers.
Still another object is to provide an economical hair spray composed of resins which are commercially available but which have opposing hair treating properties.
These and other objects of the invention will become obvious from the following description and disclosure.